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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pop — to visit
  3. club — for dancing
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pop — soda
  8. club — a group
  9. degree — temperature
  10. club — for golf
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pop — music
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. capital — a city
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com